Description

The Sturmgeshütz III Ausf. G (or StuG III Ausf. G) is a Rank III German tank destroyer with a battle rating of 4.0. It was introduced in Update 1.43. With a low profile and a powerful 7.5 cm gun, it proves to be a formidable vehicle in the ambush role.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour

Front (Slope angle)

Sides

Rear (Slope angle)

Roof

Hull

30 mm (86°), 80 mm (50°) Front glacis 80 mm (19°) Lower glacis

30 + 5 mm

50 mm (15°) Top 50 mm Bottom

16 mm

Superstructure

80 mm (10-11°), 30 mm (69°)

30 + 5 mm

30 mm

11 mm

Armour

Sides

Roof

Cupola

50 mm

11 mm

Notes:

Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.

Front side is not all 80 mm thick, the rest are 30 mm, but are heavily sloped.

The hull sides are protected by an extra 5 mm thick plate to provide protection against HEAT and HE rounds.

Usage in the battles

This tank destroyer is best played as a support vehicle. Unlike its predecessors, it has very good armour and can be invincible from long ranges. However, if playing with this tank close to the front lines, (for example, capturing points) this armour will not be adequate against the close-range power of most vehicles. Any shot which penetrates the armour will most likely destroy the vehicle due to the small interior layout. The sides are a weak point from any ranges, so take care of that as well. Support teammates from the flanks, attack from long ranges, and never close in the distance even for objectives unless absolutely necessary. If properly concealed, the enemy will never know where they are attacked from as they concentrate their assault forwards.

Once in a game, choose the spawn point patiently to pick the best area to start choosing firing positions. The open areas are not good for the StuGs so when repositioning, make sure it is safe before moving ahead. Flank an objective point where the enemies will be capping, but the teammates will be frontally attacking. Be careful to not get detected by the enemy and find a place where the StuG can be in cover and start shooting. Always look around, and if the situation gets bad, relocate to another vantage point. If the StuG III is deep in the enemy lines and alone, only attack if there is only one enemy. From long ranges, the StuG can always a winner in 1v1 duels if played cautiously. From short ranges, the key is situational awareness, and how fast the StuG III can shoot down the enemy before they fire and hit the StuG.

Some tips on enemies:

American Tanks: M4 Shermans are easy targets, but in a 600 m area, they could penetrate the StuG's frontal armour if unangled. M4A3E2 Jumbos can lead to stalemates, but getting too close can allow the Jumbo to aim for weak spots. The best way to defeat the Jumbo is to flank and hit them at the side, preferably the lower area at the suspension where it is only 38.1 mm thick.

Soviet tanks: T-34 will be dangerous from any ranges. It is easy to penetrate them, so the StuG must detect and shoot them down quickly. From long ranges, angling the StuG slightly might enhance the front armour against the T-34 shells, but angling too much will allow the T-34 to hit the vulnerable side armour.

British tanks: The British tanks have some low caliber guns, but their high muzzle velocity and fast reload rate will penetrate and destroy the StuG easily. The Cruiser tanks like Cromwells will be a difficult target, as they are mobile and can flank the StuG easily. Be the first to detect the tank and fire at them while they are trying to position themselves, as their armour could be easily pierced by the 75 mm gun. If facing with a Churchill Mk.VII from the front, it is best to withdraw and call on teammates for support. If the Churchill is distracted, reposition to take aim at the side armour and devastate the interior with an APHE round. Other Churchills (Mk.I or Mk.III) can easily be penetrated frontally.

Pros and cons

Pros:

Good penetrating 75 mm StuK 40 gun.

80 mm of front armour.

Low silhouette.

Additional side plates of armour.

Cons:

Armour has some vertical areas in the front that is easier to penetrate.

A penetration on the driver port can knock out driver, gunner, and commander. This can quickly lead to a crew replenishment mode or vehicle destruction.

Fixed casemate superstructure restricts gun movement to the front.

Machine gun shield on roof can compromise low profile and also has no machine gun!

A HE shell onto the machine gun shield can send the shrapnel down through the hull roof down into the crew compartment.

History

Development

The role of a self-propelled gun came from combat experiences in World War I. During the German offensives on the Allied front, infantry lacked artillery support against fortifications in places out-ranged by their heavy artillery behind the lines. A need for a mobile artillery piece was necessary to keep up with the German infantry and fight enemy fortifications with a direct-fire assault role. The father of this concept was German General Erich von Manstein and was coined as the Sturmartillerie (assault artillery), and these units were to be embedded in infantry divisions.

On June 15, 1936, Daimler-Benz AG was ordered to develop a support vehicle mounting the 75 mm howitzer as its armament in a casemate structure with a traverse of 25 degrees. The vehicle was to provide full protection for its crew and be no taller than an average soldier. Daimler-Benz repurposed the chassis and running gear of their Panzer III design for the role. These new vehicles were named the Sturmgeschütz III (assault gun), or the shortened StuG III and the finished designs were sent to Alkett for prototype production and five were produced in 1937. These prototypes were made of mild steel and had the 75 mm StuK 37 L/24 cannon, an adaption of the original 75 mm KwK 37 cannon on the Panzer IV. This gun would be featured on the StuG III variants Ausf. A to Ausf. E. The StuG III entered production from January 1940 to the end of the war on April 1945 due to the many upgrades done on the vehicle to increase serviceability and its low cost. At about a total production of 11,300 StuG III and its variants, the StuG III design was the most produced armoured fighting vehicle in German service.

Design

The StuG III had a fully enclosed armoured shell, keeping the crew safe withing the vehicle. As a casemate structure, it has a limited traverse range for its front view, and the whole vehicle must be turned if a target is outside its traverse range. The StuG III featured about 50 mm of armour on the front, but about 30 mm of armour everywhere else, this was upgraded as the war progressed to 80 mm. The suspension system is identical to the Panzer III's, a torsion bar system. The StuG III had a crew of four, the commander, driver, loader, and gunner. Initial variants lack machine guns, so the StuG was required to work with support units to ensure it does not get overrun by infantry. It wasn't until December 1942 when a machine gun could be accommodated for the loader to use. Initial variants also did not have a commander's cupola so his view was quite restricted. However, models after September 1943 had them installed.

Combat usage

During the initial stages of World War II, the StuG III with the 75 mm StuK 37 howitzer fared well in the campaigns in France and Poland, but when the invasion of Soviet Union commenced, the lack of German guns able to destroy their T-34 and KV-1 tanks prompted Germany to rearm their vehicles with newer guns. So the original StuK 37 cannon from the initial designs was upgraded to the 75 mm StuK 40 cannons. The StuG III Ausf. F has the shorter L/43 cannon, but the StuG III Ausf. G featured the longer L/48 cannon with improved design features on the vehicle. The Ausf. G was the most common and produced StuG III variant in the war. It featured a widened superstructure with a straightened back wall, also making it slightly higher with a height of 2160 mm now. The exhaust fan is moved to the back and a commander's cupola is added onto design. The driver's periscope on the design was abandoned and the vehicle has Schürzen armour plates installed on the hull to protect the weaker hull sides against anti-tank rifles and HEAT rounds. Instead of the 50 mm hull armour with an additional 30 mm welded on on the Ausf. F, the Ausf. G featured a solid 80 mm plate on the hull front. A machine gun mount has also become integrated into the design with a small shield for the loader as well to operate it in safety, though a "remote" operated version was also installed later so that the loader would only need to get out to reload the machine gun. This design is the most numerous of the StuG III variants, and of the 11,300 StuG IIIs built, 8738 StuG III Ausf. Gs were built from December 1942 to April 1945, with some converted from fully built Panzer IIIs.

The new 75 mm StuK 40 cannon could engage many Allied tank designs. This upgrade changed the StuG III role from its usual infantry support role into a tank destroyer, though it can serve both roles with acceptable performance. The vehicles were deemed very successful and attributed to more tank kills than any other armoured fighting vehicle in German service. The success of the StuG III urged Germany to prioritize the production of casemate structure vehicles built from chassis of other vehicles for further development in tank destroyers such as the Jagdpanther, Jagdpanzer 38(t), and the Ferdinand.

The StuG III design was also made into different variants with different armaments, such as a 105 mm howitzer on the StuH 42 , a flamethrower on the StuG III (Flamm), and even a 150 mm sIG 33 infantry gun on the Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B.

Legacy

The StuG III design would see service in the entire war due to its adaptability to the changing course of the war, going from an offensive support weapon to a defensive tank destroyer. The StuG III holds the distinct title of knocking out the most Allied tanks in German service with about 20,000 tanks killed, much more than the better Panther and Tiger tanks. It was a widely-exported design to Germany's allies, such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Spain, and Finland. The StuG III would continue serving in various countries past World War II in conflicts in the 1960s, such as the Six Days War in Syria's service that were donated by the Soviet Union. Today, some are still serving as static pillboxes on the Golan Heights.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,